The present invention relates to a plastic lid for a drinking cup. In particular, the invention relates to a lid having a flexible flange which depends downwardly into the cup and rests contiguously against the cup's inner sidewall surface to form a channel and two apertures through which the contents of the cup may be emptied.
Drinking cups are a ubiquitous product in the beverage industry. It is common to use drinking cups made out of Styrofoam and the like especially for take-out restaurants and convenience stores. It is common practice to use a cup lid with the cups especially when the drinks are carried to present spillage. However, conventional cup lid designs are not consumer friendly especially when used to drink hot liquids, such as coffee or tea and the like. There are many prior art drinking cup lids which come in various permutations. One type of prior art lid acts as a solid cover which is attached to the rim of the cup to prevent the liquid from spilling or splashing out of cup during movement. An example of such a cup lid may be found in Mack U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,027. The contents of a cup using this type of lid cannot be easily enjoyed, because the entire lid must be removed to drink the contents which is at best cumbersome and at worst, dangerous, especially when the liquid contents of the cup is hot, such as coffee and the like.
Another type of prior art cup lid has a perforated section which forms a drinking aperture when bent backwards and/or removed from the lid. Examples of this type of cup lid may be found in Dodaro U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,624; Durdon U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,727B; Van Melle U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,619; and Lane U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,927. A problem with these types of lids is that the section of the lid, which is folded, is very cumbersome to remove thereby increasing the probability that the contents of the cup will be spilled during the removal process. Also, once the section is removed, the possibility of spillage increases when the cup is suddenly jarred, moved or tilted because the aperture is large to accommodate drinking. Spillage most commonly occurs when the cup is placed in a car's cup holder and the car accelerates or decelerates suddenly.
Still another type of prior art lid has a pre-formed drinking aperture which is intended to minimize spillage. Examples of this type of cup lid are found in Warren U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,843; Van Melle U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,781; and Freek U.S. Pat. No. Des. 379,928. The apertures disclosed in the aforementioned prior art patents are very small so as to minimize spillage. This design feature, however, while minimizing spillage, has the disadvantage of hindering one's ability to comfortably drink the beverage since typically, only a small amount of liquid can be drained from the cup with each sip.
Another disadvantage of the prior art is that the cup lids provide no means for keeping the contents of the cup hot for an extended period of time. There is virtually no temperature gradient of the liquid when the prior art lids are used with a hot liquid. All of the liquid in the cup will cool at the same temperature at the same rate of time.
Consequently, it is apparent that there is a need for a cup lid which not only permits one to drink the contents comfortably and helps to prevent spillage but also is able to keep hot liquids hotter over a longer period of time.